


Kristy's not Okay

by FloofeyMarshmallow



Series: 40 Weeks 'verse [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Anorexia, Bulimia, Eating Disorder, Eating Disorder Recovery, FullMetal Alchemist - Freeform, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - Freeform, Fullmetal Alchemist Manga, Post-Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-25
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-04-27 23:53:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5069755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FloofeyMarshmallow/pseuds/FloofeyMarshmallow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After going through recovery from his Bulimia, Edward gets married and has children. The only problem; his daughter is playing the same dangerous game that he played as a child. After all these years, Ed needs to find out what his daughter is doing to herself so he can put an end to it. TEMPORARY HIATUS</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I made a sequel to "Secrets That Kill". I left the story off with a part that could definitely be complete as it was, so reading this story isn't like a series or anything. This story is included in the 40 Weeks verse, but "Secrets That Kill" was not. This story is not about Edward mainly, but of course, he is in it as a big part because it's about his daughter, Kristy! :) As I said before, it's not a huge part of "Secrets That Kill", but I've planned a sweet moment that I wouldn't want to miss between Ed and his daughter. Anyway, enough of this chatter, if you like it, give it a read, but if not, just move on and remember "Secrets That Kill" as it was. Enjoy!

It had been years since Edward Elric had been hospitalized for the second time due to his Bulimia. Ed’s eating disorder had haunted him for a large portion of his life, but after finally finishing the program and going through all the necessary steps to recover, Edward finally did it. The recovery didn’t just stop after he was released from the hospital, though. Ed’s recovery continued for years afterward, through his marriage and fatherhood. Recovery wasn’t just a three month program for Edward Elric; it was for life.

After Ed was released from the hospital, he got married. To Winry, actually. Winry was his best friend, and the one woman he knew he was going to end up with since he was a child. No matter how many other women he met through his journeys as a State Alchemist, there was only one woman for Edward. Shortly after marriage – his honeymoon was actually when it all started – Ed and Winry had children together.

The couple ended up having three children. Their twins, Ethan and Anthony, and little Kristy. Ethan and Anthony were ten years older than Kristy, and were already finishing college when Kristy turned fourteen years old.

This story begins with Kristy.

* * *

“Is everything ready for our family vacation?” Ed asked. The Elric family went on a vacation every year – something Winry called Ed’s thirst for an adventure needing to be filled – but this was the first year they were missing their oldest children. While they had all been sad – even Kristy, growing up to be close with her much older brothers – they had decided to go on the vacation anyway. They couldn’t just throw away an entire tradition just because they were missing a few of the players. Besides, the boys couldn’t have gone on the trip even if they wanted to; school and their fiancées kept them incredibly busy.

“Everything is packed,” Winry said. “I have my automail gear ready for us,” the wife joked.

“Please don’t mess with me like that,” Edward responded with a groan. “I get worried you might be serious because you bringing automail to a beach is something you would totally do.” Winry laughed.

“All right, all right; no more jokes about automail,” Winry said. “It’s you me and Kristy this entire trip. No automail and _no alchemy_.”

“Fine, fine; no alchemy.” Ed rolled his eyes. “Kristy! Come on, we’ve got to get on the road if we want to be at that inn by sundown!”

“All right, all right,” Kristy said as she came down the stairs of their home with a suitcase. Kristy definitely took after her mother, inheriting her blonde hair and blue eyes, though Kristy’s hair had a light curl in it that Winry’s did not. When they were all settled in the car and on their way, Winry decided to strike conversation.

“So, Kristy, did you pick out what bathing suit you’re going to wear to swimming?” Winry asked. Kristy had so many bathing suits to choose from.

“Actually, I think I’m just going to wear a t-shirt and some shorts,” Kristy said – something that wasn’t like her at all. Kristy was usually concerned with how she looked, even if her mother and father had never been like that as teenagers. They did have different circumstances, though.

“A t-shirt and shorts?” Winry asked. “After all those bathing suits I just bought you?”

“Well, the bathing suits I tried on yesterday when we packed were a little tight,” Kristy fibbed. “I don’t want to look like a cow popping out of it, so I’ll just cover up.”

“They’re tight?” Winry raised an eyebrow. “I thought we just bought them a few weeks ago.”

“Guess I gained weight.” This wasn’t true. Winry had actually noticed her daughter become a bit thinner over the past few weeks, but thought Kristy was just working extra hard in school. They had just had exams over the past few weeks and Winry and Ed had contributed the weight loss to that.

“I don’t think you gained weight, sweetheart,” Winry said. “Maybe its stress,” she suggested, despite knowing her daughter wasn’t gaining weight.

“Maybe I’m bloated,” Kristy shot out.

“Jeez, a guy has one daughter and can’t escape the girl talk,” Edward interjected with a laugh. “Seriously; I was one away from all boys and I hear more about you two talking about how you look than I hear the boys talking about girls they’ve been with.”

“Well, it could have something to do with them moving out,” Winry said, rolling her eyes. “And you got to hear _all_ about what girls were ‘hot’ and ‘not’ at school when they were Kristy’s age. Maybe it’s my turn to have some girl time now that almost all the boys are out of my house.”

“You can’t get rid of me, babe. I’m like a pregnant spider,” Ed said.

“I don’t ever want to hear you say the word ‘pregnant’ and you in a sentence ever again,” Winry responded.

“What if I was saying that I got you pregnant?” Edward asked. “It’s true; I did it twice.”

“And we got three kids out of it,” Winry said. “But you couldn’t have given me cute little twin girls, huh?”

“Hey, you loved the boys when they were younger,” Ed said. “Dressed them up the same and everything.” Kristy didn’t hear the rest of the conversation after placing headphones in her ears.

Kristy leaned against the window, feeling the growling in her stomach. She hoped her parents’ arguing – or whatever they were really doing – would drown out the sound. Her music drowned it out to her, but she could still feel it.

Kristy thought about food constantly. She thought about not eating it. She thought about eating it. But mostly, she thought about avoiding it.

 

 Next Update: October 31st, 2015


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I completely forgot I had a chapter to post on Halloween. Anyway, happy late Halloween! What were you this year (if you dressed up)? I was Mario and my little brother was Luigi on Halloween, but my little sister was Luigi when we went to a party the Wednesday before Halloween.

“Ed, I’m worried about Kristy,” Winry said when the two had left for a dinner out. They had planned a family dinner after a long day at the beach, but Kristy only said she didn’t feel well and was planning on staying in.

“Me too,” Edward responded. “She’s been acting strange lately. Almost…”

“Like you did?” Winry asked. Her husband nodded. “Do you think she could…she could have what you had?”

“I hope not, but it’s a possibility,” Ed said. “When I was in the hospital my doctors told me that Bulimia was genetic. Do you think we should have a talk with her?”

“Well…what did you want everyone to do when they found out?” Winry asked.

“Win, I didn’t want anyone to do anything when they found out. I wanted everyone to pretend it wasn’t happening and let me do my thing,” Edward answered. “It’s not about what _she wants_ , it’s about what _she needs_.”

“You’re right,” Winry said. “So…What should we do?”

“I don’t think we should come outright and attack her with accusations,” Ed said. “Maybe we can get her in to a doctor to see if something’s wrong. Tell them what to look for and see what they think about it without letting her know. If she knows what we’re looking for, she’ll get defensive and try to hide it even more.”

“Good idea,” Winry said. “I’ll call her Paninya and make an appointment with her when we get back home.”

“Paninya?” Ed asked with a groan. Paninya, a longtime friend of Winry’s, had become a doctor when she had been given the chance. It gave her the opportunity to help patients by referring them to automail engineers like Dominic, the man she had been living under, and Winry. “How about a real doctor?”

“Paninya is a good friend and would understand,” Winry said. “I trust her more than anyone, and she read on eating disorders when she was in medical school.”

“Do you think she’s really qualified to examine our daughter for an eating disorder just because she’s read a few books on the subject in school?” Edward asked.

“All right, fine; I’ll find a doctor here in Central. Do you have any suggestions?” WInry asked.

“I actually do.”  

* * *

Doctor Warren walked out of her office on a busy day of work when she was handed her appointment schedule, seeing the last name Elric. Her eyes widened a bit at the name; she had recognized it from the young State Alchemist that was brought into her care many years ago, who finished his treatment after his second try at it.

“Elizabeth?” Doctor Warren asked her assistant. “Do we have an Edward Elric coming in today?” There were no first names on the appointment schedule, so the doctor couldn’t see if this was truly Edward Elric. Elizabeth was the one who received the phone calls.

“I remember speaking to an Elric, but I think it was a woman,” Elizabeth responded. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

“All right, thank you,” Doctor Warren said before returning to her office with the schedule on hand. She was probably just being paranoid that the young man she had watched leave with his former colonel would return for another round of treatment.

When it finally came time for the Elric’s appointment, Doctor Warren left her office and made her way to the waiting room, scouring the area for the long golden blonde hair. She _did_ see Edward. He was much taller, and kept his golden hair in a ponytail. He was truly a man now, sitting beside a blonde woman with blue eyes and a teenager who looked just like the woman she sat beside.

“Elric?” Warren called, and the family of three looked up at their name being called. Edward stood with the woman, speaking hushed tones to the teenager before walking to Doctor Warren, leaving the young girl behind.

“Hey, Doctor Warren,” Edward greeted. “This is my wife, Winry.”

“You must be who my assistant spoke with on the phone; it’s nice to meet you, Winry,” Doctor Warren said. “It’s been a long time, Edward. Are you here for treatment?”

“Actually, I was hoping we could talk about that in my office,” Ed said.

“Follow me.” The doctor turned, leading the couple to her office where two chairs sat in front of her desk. The group sat down. “So, what’s this about?”

“It’s about my daughter,” Edward answered. “We’ve been worried about her and think she might…”

“We think she might have what Ed used to have,” Winry finished for her husband, who seemed to be stuck on his sentence. “We’re very worried about her. She just hasn’t been herself lately and she looks like she’s been losing weight.”

“So you want me to do an examination on her and see if she really does have Bulimia?” Doctor Warren asked.

“Without having her know what’s going on,” Edward said. “She thinks she’s just here for a physical. We don’t want her to know that we suspect anything if there really is a problem.”

“Well, coming to me was a good step,” Doctor Warren said. “I’ll personally give her a thorough examination and I’ll let you know. What’s her name?”

“Her name is Kristina,” Winry answered.

“You two are more than welcome to stay here while we do this,” Doctor Warren said, standing from her desk and preparing to leave the room. “I’ll come back and let you know if anything is wrong. Don’t worry; you two can trust me.”

“Thank you, Doctor Warren,” Ed thanked. “I knew I could count on you.”

“Always, Edward.” The doctor then walked out of the room and to the waiting room, where she saw the teenage girl twiddling her thumbs in her chair. “Kristina?” Doctor Warren called. The girl looked up. “Why don’t you come with me and we can get this over with, huh? I know you’d like to enjoy the rest of your week without these silly doctor things.”

“It’s just Kristy,” the girl said as she stood from her chair and walked with Doctor Warren. “I thought nurses were supposed to do all this examination stuff?”

“Well, luckily for you, your father and I are old friends and he trusted me to do this examination myself,” Doctor Warren said. “He was a very entertaining kid. I think it’s a little funny that he became a father.” The two then reached the examination room. “Why don’t you change into the gown while I get some supplies? I’ll be back in a moment.”

When Doctor Warren walked out of the room, Kristy took the opportunity to quickly change into a gown as fast as she could. She could tell the gown was three sizes too big, even though it was labeled as a one-size fits all. Kristy then sat down on the examination bed and waited.

“All right, Kristy, let’s get this show on the road,” Doctor Warren said when she returned. “Can you step on this scale for me?” Kristy knew this was coming. She stepped on the scale and waited for the number to come on. 138 pounds. While this was a completely normal weight for someone at Kristy’s height of five feet and three inches, she had come down for 162 pounds. “Thank you; you can step off now,” Doctor Warren said as she wrote down what had been weighed on the chart she carried.

The doctor went through the final examination of going over Kristy’s heartbeat and looking inside her ears like a normal physical. She didn’t want Kristy to become suspicious.

“So, Kristy, tell me how you’ve been feeling,” Doctor Warren instructed. “Is there anything you’re worried about?”

“Not really,” Kristy answered with a shrug. “I don’t suppose you know how to pass my exams in school?”

“Well, I’d try studying and getting plenty of sleep with a well-balanced breakfast before you take your exam,” Doctor Warren suggested. “I’m going to go back to my office and to return this equipment. I’ll be back in a few moments, but you can get dressed.” Doctor Warren then walked out of the room.

Kristy let out a sigh of relief. She knew the doctor had found nothing wrong with her, judging by her expression. She was worried that something horrible could have happened. Sure, Kristy had lost a lot of weight, but she was still in a healthy weight range. Nothing could be wrong…could it?

Doctor Warren frowned as she looked over her charts after returning the medical equipment to be disposed of, but before she returned to the Elrics to report her diagnosis. Kristina Elric appeared perfectly healthy to the average person, even to some average doctors. Doctor Warren, however, specialized in eating disorders. She had seen girls like Kristy go unreported and end up in her hospital, and even some never given the chance to begin treatment.

Kristy Elric was thin, but she wasn’t underweight. Doctor Warren knew if left untreated, Kristy would end up coming into her office later appearing emaciated. She had made sure to check Kristy’s hands and could see there were no marks on them. There were also no lacerations on her throat. Doctor Warren could only think of one diagnosis. 

* * *

 

“What did you find?” Edward asked when Doctor Warren walked back into her office. His expression was that of a worried parent going out of his mind. His expression was the same as the men who had brought him in that office years ago.

“You were right to bring your daughter in to me, Edward,” Doctor Warren said as she sat down in her chair. “I examined Kristy and her weight was completely normal for a girl her age, but that’s not completely abnormal for those with eating disorders. People with eating disorders are that of all shapes and sizes. You should know, Edward, you were at a healthy weight too.”

“Does she have Bulimia?” Winry asked. She wasn’t sure how to handle someone with this problem. When Edward suffered from Bulimia, he just pushed her away until he was better. He didn’t even want Winry visiting him when he was in the hospital.

“No,” Doctor Warren said. Both Ed and Winry breathed a sigh of relief. “She has Anorexia.” The doctor could hear them both breath in again.

“Anorexia?” Edward asked. “How? I thought only people with Bulimia could be at a healthy weight.”

“She could have dropped weight and stayed at a healthy weight, but she obviously wasn’t finished with what she started,” Doctor Warren explained. “Do you two know of her last weight?”

“She was 162 pounds,” Winry said. “I suppose it was a little husky for someone of her size, but I did notice that she’s lost some weight.”

“She’s 138 pounds now,” Doctor Warren said. “She’s almost lost thirty pounds, but she’s still healthy weight.”

“How did we not notice _that much_ weight lost?” Ed asked. “I mean…I noticed that she lost _some_ weight, but that’s a lot.”

“She could’ve been wearing baggy clothes to hide it,” Doctor Warren said. “I’m sure you knew how to hide it, Edward.”

“I never lost any weight,” Ed said. “I mean, maybe a little when I was younger, but I gained some weight back and everyone thought that’s just how I was. I never really lost or gained until I got better as an adult.”

“I see…” Doctor Warren trailed off. “Well, you’ll need to keep on your toes with her. You know some of the ways of someone with Bulimia, and Anorexia, while not entirely different, has some different indicators.”

“Tell me how to help my daughter,” Edward said.

“She’ll try to avoid meals,” Doctor Warren said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you went home and found a sandwich or some other type of food in her closet or drawers. She’s obviously been at this for a while. She could also develop Bulimia if we aren’t careful, so you can’t force her to eat something. She might do it and purge.”

“How are we supposed to make her eat?” Winry asked.

“You’ll need to give her the food and hope she eats it. If she does manage to eat it, you can’t let her go. You need to sit with her and make sure she doesn’t do anything to disrupt digestion,” Doctor Warren explained.

“So, what you would do at this hospital?” Ed asked. The doctor nodded. “And if she refuses to eat?”

“If she refuses to eat for too long, she’ll need to be hospitalized,” Doctor Warren said. “We’d try to get her to eat, and if she refuses, we’ll need your consent to administer a feeding tube. If it comes to that, she won’t have a choice. Once she’s provided the nutrients she needs, it would be removed and she’d be given the option to eat again. Of course, if she offers to eat before she’s given the nutrients, we would give her the option to go through with this.”

“We’ll discuss hospitalization,” Edward said. He knew Winry wouldn’t want to go through with it, and even while he didn’t want to go through with it, Ed couldn’t deny that it might be the best option for his daughter. “Will you bring her in here so we can tell her what you found?”

“Of course,” Doctor Warren said. She returned to the examination room where she found Kristy twiddling her thumbs again after dressing. “Your parents are in my office and they’d like to speak to you.”

“You didn’t tell them I was pregnant or something, did you?” Kristy joked. Doctor Warren cracked a smile, though said nothing else, only gesturing toward her office. Kristy hopped off the examination table and was led by the doctor to the office, where she could see her parents sitting beside each other holding hands. “What’s going on?” Kristy asked.

“We need to talk to you,” Edward said. “Sit down.”

“Is there something serious going on?” Kristy asked as she sat beside her parents.

“First, we want you to know that we didn’t just bring you here for a physical,” Winry said softly. “We were worried because you weren’t eating and you looked like you lost weight, so…we brought you here to be checked out for an eating disorder.”

“What?!” Kristy exclaimed. She wouldn’t be able to hide anything from a doctor who specialized in eating disorders. She remembered that a girl in school had been sent away for it.

“We had every right to be worried,” Ed said. “Doctor Warren said you have Anorexia.”

“Anorexia?!” Kristy shouted. “That’s ridiculous!”

“It’s not,” Doctor Warren interjected. “I’ve seen all the signs, and I know for a fact that you have Anorexia.”

“I’m not even underweight,” Kristy protested.

“That doesn’t matter,” Ed said. “You don’t need to be underweight to have an eating disorder.”

“You guys are just upset that I wouldn’t go with you out to dinner over the weekend,” Kristy said. “Look, I’ll go out to dinner with you if that’ll make you happier, but I don’t have an eating disorder.”

“We’ll work on getting her to admit it,” Winry said. “Thank you so much, Doctor Warren.”

“I can set up her therapy to be done with me, if you’d like,” Doctor Warren suggested.

“Yes,” Edward said quickly. Winry gave a small nod. She knew Ed trusted this doctor. After they set up a therapy session with Doctor Warren, they made their leave for home.

“I don’t have an eating disorder,” Kristy repeated when the three were on their way out of the hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

“Edward, what are we going to do?” Winry asked when the three returned home and Kristy retreated to her bedroom. “She’s refusing to believe she has a problem, and I’m worried that if she never believes it, she can’t get better.”

“You’re right,” Ed responded. “If she thinks there isn’t a problem, she won’t get better. She has to _want_ to get better. It’s a difficult decision, especially for a kid her age. I just wonder what could have caused it.”

“What do you mean, ‘what could have caused it’?” Winry asked. “I thought it was because you had Bulimia that she has this problem.”

“Well, I had Bulimia, so I must have passed on a genetic ability for all of our kids to have an eating disorder, but it’s caused by other factors too,” Ed said. “My mother had Bulimia, and I don’t know what could have caused it, but when I developed it, it was me trying to control what happened around me. I was going through a hard time after losing my mom, and then I felt guilty because Al couldn’t eat when I could. There were a lot of factors that contributed to my Bulimia.”

“So you want to know what is contributing to Kristy’s Anorexia…” Winry trailed off. “I thought we were doing everything right.”

“Hey, we’re trying as hard as we can,” Ed said. “Just because one of our kids has a disease doesn’t mean we did something wrong. Sometimes these things just happen and it’s our job to help support her until she gets better.”

“Hughes did that,” Winry said. “Mister Hughes supported you and tried to get you better, but you still went against him for years after he died. What if that happens with us? I can’t…I can’t lose Kristy, Ed. We’ve lost so much in our lives; we can’t lose a child.”

“I know,” Edward responded, hugging his wife close. “We’re not going to lose her. We’re going to protect her, and we’re going to get her to _eat_. This is something we can beat if we just have the patience and we don’t force her into anything.”

“Don’t force her?” Winry asked. “But, Ed, how is she going to eat if we don’t force her?”

“She has to make the decision to eat on her own, Win,” Edward said. “Now, how about you go into the basement and work on whatever you’ve been working on in there lately. I’ll go make us something amazing to eat for dinner and we’ll try with Kristy.”

“What if she won’t eat?” Winry asked.

“Then she won’t eat,” Ed answered. “I’m not going to let our daughter die, but I refuse to force feed her. Mustang did that to me once and I hated him for years because of it.”

“I don’t remember him doing that,” Winry said.

“It was a long time ago,” Ed said. “Back before I even told you that I had a problem. Now, go to the basement.” Edward gave his wife a kiss on the forehead before retreating to the kitchen to make a meal.

* * *

Kristy sat in her room for a long while, picking at her fingernails. Her parents knew what she was doing. Her parents knew that she wasn’t eating. A doctor had found out. Someone had found out her dirty little secret. The thing she wanted to hide most. She had never felt so embarrassed and ashamed. It wasn’t like she was doing this because she  _wanted_ to. She  _had_ to. It was the only way Kristy would truly be good enough for her perfect family. Her father was a professor now and her mother was a well-respected automail engineer. Her brothers were going to be just as great as their parents someday. Kristy  _needed_ to live up to the Elric name. Even Uncle Al had become a prince of Xing!

It wasn’t long until there was a knock on Kristy’s door. She knew now that her parents knew what she was doing that there wouldn’t be much privacy for her. Kristy frowned when the door opened shortly after the knock. It seemed more of like a fair warning than asking permission to come in.

“Kristy,” Edward said softly. “We’re having dinner. Come out with your mom and I and eat with us.”

“I’m not hungry,” Kristy responded. She wasn’t in the mood to be forced to eat something. She already knew this was in her future when the stupid doctor had told them what she was doing.

“I know, baby, but you’ve got to eat,” Ed said. “Will you at least try?” Edward didn’t want to push his daughter too much. Not because he didn’t want her to get better. He didn’t want to push her too far to do something risky. As it was, when Edward had his issue, he had resorted to harming himself. He didn’t want Kristy to do that to herself if she wasn’t doing so already.

“I’ll come in and watch?” Kristy suggested. She didn’t want her father to hate her, but she just _couldn’t_ eat. Kristy had been a daddy’s girl when she was little, and she didn’t want to throw away their relationship all over a food issue.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Edward said. Baby steps.

During dinner, Edward tried to make light conversation with his wife and daughter to try and distract everyone from the situation. He didn’t want it to disappear, but it becoming the focus of everything they did would just make the problem with Kristy worse. He wanted her to know that he wasn’t going to push her very hard. Maybe then she might come out and eat something.

In that time, Kristy seemed like her old self. Ed had noticed for a little while that she had been dieting, so she would eat small portions. This time, she just wasn’t eating anything, and there had been times before that when she would complain of a stomach ache and blame it on ‘woman issues’ that Ed had dealt with from Winry before.

Kristy laughed at all of Edward’s jokes and even picked at the food on the plate Winry had made for her. The three actually seemed like things were back to normal. Ed knew well enough that this was a farce she was making to convince them that there wasn’t a problem. He knew this because he had done it himself when he was a kid.

After dinner, Kristy offered to clean up the dishes. Edward and Winry nodded her off, speaking about the situation on hand when Kristy took the dishes to the kitchen.

“She seemed happy,” Winry commented.

“It’s just her trying to fool us,” Ed informed his wife. “She’s trying to make us think that there’s nothing wrong when there is something very wrong. Hopefully she’ll make some progress when she goes to therapy.”

“I’m not going to therapy!” Kristy exclaimed from the kitchen. Apparently she had heard them and knew what they were talking about.

“She’s going to therapy,” Winry said, leaving no room for protest. “I don’t care what it takes to get her there. If we’re not going to get her to eat something, we’re going to get her to go to therapy.”

“Winry, we’re trying to get her to eat, we’re just not trying to force her into anything she doesn’t want to do,” Ed responded.

“Well, she doesn’t want to eat!” Winry exclaimed before calming with a slight sigh. “You need to back me up on her going to therapy.”

“She’s going to therapy,” Edward said. “That, I agree with. I’m the one who set up the appointment, remember? Doctor Warren is going to help her.”

“I hope you’re right,” Winry responded before walking out of the room.

The next day, Kristy found herself sitting in Doctor Warren’s office with her arms crossed over her chest in protest. Unfortunately for her, she hadn’t been able to convince her parents to let her pass the therapy session with the doctor.

“I don’t understand why I even need to be here,” Kristy said, breaking the silence in the room. “I can’t have an eating disorder because I’m not underweight. I was just dieting so that I could be summer ready.”

“Do you think you need to be underweight to have an eating disorder?” Doctor Warren asked. After a moment, Kristy let out a small nod with an expression saying that she thought it was the dumbest question in the world. “Well, that’s just not true.”

“What do you mean?” Kristy asked. “In magazines and newspapers everyone is always underweight when they claim someone has an eating disorder. Celebrities are in there all the time, even ones that my mom knows.” Working with so many people, Winry did meet an occasional celebrity of different countries that would keep in touch with her. So many people had automail these days.

“Well, that’s not always the case,” Doctor Warren said. “While obviously some people are underweight with eating disorders, other people are overweight, or even normal weight, like you are.”

“I’m not a normal weight,” Kristy said. “I’m overweight.”

“No,” Doctor Warren disagreed. “You are healthy weight now. You _were_ overweight before. Our goal is to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle with eating, no matter if that means you will be overweight or if you will continue to be at a healthy weight.”

“I don’t want to be overweight,” Kristy said. “I just want to be a normal weight. You don’t understand; I have to keep up this diet so that I can get down to a normal weight.”

“You _are_ down to a normal weight, Kristy,” Doctor Warren said. “Now you need to get better. Living like this isn’t healthy at all. Your parents have signed off on me being your therapist and dietitian. You will be coming to see me twice a week for the next three months. After that, we’ll see how you’ve improved.”

“And if I can convince you that I’ve improved?” Kristy asked.

“Most patients benefit from a second cycle of treatment,” Doctor Warren answered, implying that she wouldn’t be easily fooled if Kristy deceived her. She had known that Edward was tricking them, but he had done what was required of them when he was first relieved.

“And what if that doesn’t work?” Kristy asked.

“Your parents can sign for you to be admitted into the hospital at any time,” Doctor Warren said. “It’s only a matter of time until they allow you to be admitted. Your father, I think he’s all for it. Your mother is the only one who is preventing you from being admitted.”

Kristy felt very uncomfortable in that moment. “Can we…Can we talk about something else?” Kristy didn’t want to speak with this person at all, but she especially did not want to talk about being hospitalized and having her parents pinned against each other.

“What would you like to talk about?” Doctor Warren asked.

“You said you were a friend of my father’s,” Kristy began. “How did you two meet? You said he was a funny kid, so you obviously knew him when he was young.”

“Well, he was a teenager when we met,” Doctor Warren said. She didn’t want to reveal too much information on the chance that Edward hadn’t told his daughter he ever had an eating disorder, which he hadn’t. “Him being a State Alchemist, there were quite a few times when he was in the hospital. I happened to have the pleasure of being his doctor at one point and we kept in touch.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but it also wasn’t the entire truth.

“I didn’t think doctors were allowed to stay in touch with their patients,” Kristy said, moving her attention to dust on Doctor Warren’s desk. “I thought doctors just let them go.”

“Well, your father was a special case,” the doctor said. “Now that you’ve asked me a question, how about I ask you one?” Kristy didn’t answer, so Doctor Warren moved on anyway. “Do you really believe that going without food is the answer?”

Kristy looked up at Doctor Warren for a long moment before speaking. “No. I don’t think it’s the answer.” She could convince everyone she was ‘recovered’ and everything would be all right. “It’s not the answer at all.”

Doctor Warren smiled. “All right, well, I’ll see you next week, then.”

 

**Next Update: November 14th, 2015**


	4. Chapter 4

Things still didn’t get better after therapy. Edward and Winry, of course, were worried, but it put their minds at ease that Kristy had stopped losing weight. Doctor Warren told them it wasn’t her policy to tell the family what the kids said in her practice. This put Ed’s mind at ease a bit, knowing that she hadn’t told Mustang what he was saying while he was in therapy with her, but he was worried about Kristy’s condition.

“I’ll tell you if her condition is getting worse, Edward,” Doctor Warren had said. “But I won’t betray her confidence. She’s just beginning to come out and talk to me, and I don’t want to lose her trust now.”

So the time went on with Kristy continuing not to eat. Ed had seen her eat small amounts, so he was grateful that she was actually eating. He just didn’t know what she was doing after she ate. If she was throwing it up or exercising excessively in her room, he didn’t know, but he didn’t want to make things worse by watching extra carefully after meals. He didn’t want to push her into Bulimia.

When Christmas came, the boys had returned home for the holidays. Their girlfriends had gone over to their own families’ for the holidays, so it was just the boys. Ed was grateful. He didn’t think Kristy could handle having a house incredibly full of people at the moment.

They were planning on having a Christmas party, and inviting their family and friends. Mustang and Hawkeye, Alphonse and Mei with their daughter Mao, and granny Pinako. Winry and Ed were still worried about how Kristy would behave in front of everyone else, though. They didn’t want her to go further in starving herself because there were so many people around.

“Maybe if there’s people around, she’ll be more inclined to eat?” Winry suggested one night in their room. They couldn’t speak so much about Kristy’s condition out in the open. The boys didn’t know, and Kristy wanted to keep it that way. Winry and Edward were respecting her wishes.

“Trust me, Winry, all a house full of people will do is make things worse,” Ed said. “I don’t know about her, but when I had Bulimia, I was actually _embarrassed_ to eat in front of people. I thought of it as shameful in a way. If she thinks the same, it won’t do anything for her.”

“Well…I guess we’ll just have to try our best,” Winry said with a sigh. She didn’t want to cancel the plans because it was the only time they were able to see all of their family and friends.

“Yeah.” Ed sighed as well.

* * *

Things had been going as well as they could have. The boys were running around keeping everyone as entertained as they could. Alphonse had come and was catching up with Edward while Winry was spending her time with Pinako. Mustang and Hawkeye were surveying the area, occasionally going around to speak with the others when they could. Kristy was…well, she wasn’t spending time with her little cousin, Mao, as she usually would have. Instead, she was sitting on her own, staring at the little buffet table her parents had set up in preparation for the party.

Mustang happened to catch onto this. He excused himself from Hawkeye, moving to Ed’s position. “Edward?”

“Yeah?” Ed asked, turning his attention away from Alphonse for a moment to speak with the man.

“Have you seen your daughter?” Mustang asked. Edward turned in the direction of his daughter, watching the way she was staring at the buffet table. He gave a little sigh.

“Yeah, I’ve seen her…” Ed trailed off.

“Is she all right?” Alphonse asked. “You don’t think she has…what you had, do you?” Edward knew when he was younger he didn’t want anyone telling others about his disease. He frowned a bit when he realized that he would betray every instinct as a father and tell his brother and previous superior officer about his daughter’s disease.

“She has Anorexia,” Edward said in a hushed tone. “Please don’t tell anyone. We’re trying to keep it quiet. I just…I can’t lie to you guys.”

“Oh, brother…” Alphonse trialed off. He placed a comforting hand on Edward’s shoulder, and Mustang did so on the other shoulder. “Has she been to the doctor?”

“She’s going to the same doctor I went to,” Ed said. “Therapy and a dietician. If things get worse…well, she’ll be going inpatient.”

“I didn’t think you of all people would be willing to put your daughter into inpatient,” Mustang said, his eyebrows raising a bit in shock.

“There’s nothing else I can do. I mean, if she’s not willing to help herself, how am I going to help her?” Edward sighed once again. “Anyway, not even the boys know, yet, so try and keep this between the three of us.”

“Sure thing,” Mustang said. After the three finished discussing Kristy’s condition, they separated and moved back to what they had been doing before.

“Okay, guys,” Ethan announced after some time had passed. “I wanted to tell you all together because you guys are my family, and my dad’s friends. I’m joining the military.”

“What?!” Edward, Alphonse, and Winry exclaimed simultaneously.

“You can’t join the military, you idiot!” Ed shouted.

“Why not?” Ethan asked. “I’m over eighteen, and I figured you’d like it. You know, following in your footsteps.”

“I was an idiotic kid when I joined the military,” Edward said. “I’m not going to let you repeat my mistakes.”

“Besides, you need to be here for your sister right now,” Winry added. As soon as she had said it, she regretted it. She hoped Ethan didn’t question her about it.

“Why?” Ethan and Anthony asked simultaneously.

“Is she sick?” Ethan asked. He would feel guilty if he left for the military while his sister was sick.

“She has…” Winry trailed off. Edward shook his head at her, not wanting her to reveal Kristy’s disease. Not when she was barely into her treatment. “Your sister has Anorexia.”

Edward whipped into the direction of Kristy, his eyes widened at the announcement to all their friends and family. His daughter had since stopped staring at the buffet table, sitting silently away from everyone else. At the announcement, she stood from where she was sitting.

“Kristy?” Ethan asked with wide eyes. He had never thought his little sister would have such a disease. Hell, he barely knew anything about it except from what he had been forced to read throughout college so far.

“Don’t talk to me,” Kristy said quietly before walking to her bedroom, shutting the door, and locking it.

“Why did you tell them?” Edward asked Winry. She had known that Ed didn’t want anyone to know about it.

“Why did you tell Alphonse and the general?” Winry asked in return.

“Because Al is my brother and Mustang is the closest guy I got to a father; that’s why!” Ed exclaimed. “I thought maybe they could help a little bit because they did so well before!”

“Before?” Anthony asked.

“Our daughter is now humiliated, Winry,” Ed said. “How are we going to make this better for her?”

“I don’t know how to fix this, Edward,” Winry responded. “You’re the expert; I didn’t help before, and I don’t know how to help now. Sometimes I feel completely useless because you know exactly what to do and how she feels, and I don’t.”

“Maybe we should go…” Alphonse trailed off. “I’m going to see if Kristy will tell me bye before we leave.” Al moved to Kristy’s door, away from the fighting of her parents, and knocked gently. “Kristy? We’re going to go now. I just wanted to say goodbye…”

There was no response.

“I understand if you don’t want to talk,” Al said. “Just know, I understand that this is a tough situation for you. If you ever need me, you know my phone number.” After a few minutes of no response, Alphonse left.

* * *

It had been a while since the party had ended abruptly and there was still no sign from Kristy. Winry had spent a while waiting outside her bedroom door with no response. Eventually, she gave up and sat on the sofa in the living room with her three boys.

“I don’t understand…” Ethan trailed off. “How could this have happened and we not even know it?”

“Don’t you think your mother and I are asking the same thing?” Ed sighed a bit, running his hands through his hair. “You two were off at college, and it wasn’t your responsibility to catch what was going on. Your mother and I are the ones who are ashamed for not noticing, and when Kristy wanted to keep it a secret the most from you two out of pride, we failed her.”

“We should’ve known,” Anthony said. “And what did you two mean by ‘before’? You said that the general and Uncle Al had helped before, but with what? Did you know someone else with Anorexia?”

“Sort of,” Edward answered. He hadn’t ever told his children about his Bulimia because he hadn’t wanted them to know he had been that way when he was younger. With finding out that Kristy had Anorexia, Ed had been so tempted to tell her he knew exactly how she felt; he just hadn’t found the right moment to do so yet. “I’m going to go check on her.”

Ed walked to Kristy’s door, knocking once again. It was silent. It took him a moment to pick the lock on the door before walking in to find his daughter laying on her bedroom floor with a cut up wrist and too much blood surrounding the wound.

“Kristy?” Edward asked, feeling helpless as to what to do. His daughter was on the floor, pale, with her slender wrist oozing blood. “Kristy!” Winry and the boys ran to the room when Edward shouted.

Winry gasped, running to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her. It didn’t take very long for Winry to react and remove the light sweater she had been wearing, pressing it against Kristy’s wound.

“Call an ambulance!” Winry exclaimed. The boys were already beside the phone, calling an ambulance with haste.

“It’ll be okay…” Edward trailed off. “We’re going to be okay…”

* * *

Edward and Winry sat in the hospital waiting room for hours. When Kristy was brought in, the two were instructed to wait in the waiting room, and a doctor hadn’t been in to see them since.

Ethan and Anthony stayed home. They had wanted to come, but when Kristy was being loaded in the ambulance, Ed told them they would call when they found out what was going on. As it was, only one person was allowed to be in the ambulance with Kristy, and Winry had done that.

“I don’t know if this is going to work out, Ed,” Winry said quietly. “You were so much easier than her when you had Bulimia…You didn’t _do_ this.”

“Winry, I did stuff like this, I just never did it too deep and you weren’t ever there to see it,” Ed said. “There’s no such thing as being easy with an eating disorder. It’s all hard and it’s all deadly. We just need to hope for the best and put our time into her.”

“But what if she doesn’t come out of that hospital room?” Winry asked. “What if she doesn’t make it because we didn’t notice in time?”

“I don’t know, Winry.” Ed sighed. “I just don’t know.”

* * *

 

**Next Update: Nov. 24 th, 2015**


	5. Chapter 5

“Mister and misses Elric?” a doctor called when he walked out to the waiting room. Ed and Winry immediately stood and walked over to the doctor who held a grim expression and a clipboard.

“That’s us,” Winry said. “Is she all right?”

“Did you two know that your daughter was depressed?” the doctor asked.

“We didn’t know she would try to commit suicide,” Edward answered. He felt as though the doctor was accusing them for not keeping a better eye on her. “She was diagnosed with Anorexia and it accidentally got out to some of our friends and family.” Ed didn’t want to say _how_ it accidentally got out. He would discuss it with Winry later.

“Well, your daughter did quite a number on herself,” the doctor explained. He gestured for them to follow him as he began to walk through two white doors that would lead them to Kristy’s room. “We’d like to admit Kristina to our closed psychiatric ward, though we would need your permission to do so.”

“Absolutely not,” Edward said sternly.

“Your daughter is very ill, mister Elric,” the doctor warned. “If you’re not careful, she could end up here again.”

“She’s not going to be admitted to this hospital,” Ed said. “If she needs to be admitted somewhere, she will be admitted to the hospital of our choosing.”

“Very well,” the doctor said. “We’ve given her stitches to close the wound and she’s currently under sedatives to make sure she doesn’t try and harm herself while we’re not in the room. She needs to heal, but we’ve done everything we can do here without admitting her for her eating disorder and suicidal thoughts.”

“So we can go when she wakes up?” Winry asked.

“We’d like to keep her overnight just to make sure the stitches hold up,” the doctor answered. “When you discharge her, the nurse will give you a prescription I’ve already signed for. It’s pain medication for the stitches. You’ll also need to make an appointment with me to have the stitches removed, but if you’d also like to do that with another doctor, just let me know and I’ll give you a referral.”

“We’re going to Doctor Warren,” Edward answered. “She runs a hospital specialized for eating disorders on the other side of town.”

“How do you know if she’s qualified to remove stitches?” the doctor asked.

“Because she removed mine,” Ed said. “Can I go see my damn daughter now?”

“Of course,” the doctor said. He opened the door to the room where Kristy was admitted. Winry gave a sigh of relief when she could see her daughter. Kristy was pale and her wrist was completely wrapped in bandages. She also had IVs in her other arm and hand.

“My baby…” Winry trailed off. She sat beside the bed quickly, a hand reaching up to stroke Kristy’s golden locks. “Oh my god…Ed…how could we have let her get this way?”

“We’ve been doing all we can,” Ed said.

“But I told everyone what was going on with her…” Winry held onto Kristy’s hand as tightly as she could without disrupting the IVs. “What kind of mother would tell everyone their daughter is Anorexic?”

“You didn’t know it would be a bad thing, Winry,” Edward said gently. He knelt down beside his wife and kissed her hair softly. “You didn’t know. You just didn’t know.”

“But we decided that it would be best if no one knew…She didn’t _want_ anyone else to know…” Winry said. “She didn’t want anyone to know.”

“Don’t worry about that now,” Ed said. “We’ll talk to her about it later. Right now, let’s enjoy the fact that our daughter is _alive.”_

* * *

It was in the middle of the night when Kristy had woken. Edward had been there, but Winry had left to go home. Someone needed to tell the boys that everything was okay, and only one of them could stay anyway. Winry had wanted to stay, and Ed was willing to let her do so, but she eventually decided that she would go home. While she ached to be near her daughter, she had been the one to tell everyone what had happened, and she wanted Kristy to relax instead of be angry with her.

“Kristy?” Ed asked when he saw his daughter’s eyes open. He thought she would have been on sedatives all through the night, but they must have been wearing off. “Kristy, are you all right?”

“Daddy?” Kristy asked, calling Edward ‘daddy’ for the first time in years with tears in her eyes. She hadn’t thought she would live. She was supposed to die so her family wouldn’t have to go through the embarrassment of having to tell people that she was their daughter, and that she was a freak.

“Hey, baby.” Edward reached a hand out and stroked his daughter’s hair gently, the way that Winry always did. He knew Kristy liked it. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m sorry...” Kristy trailed off.

“What are you sorry for?” Ed asked.

“I’m sorry that you have to deal with me,” Kristy said. “I’m sorry that your daughter is so messed up that she starves herself and does stuff like this. I’m sorry I couldn’t have been someone else.”

“Well, it’s karma, I guess,” Ed said, trying to lighten the situation.

“Karma?” Kristy asked.

“Honey, _I’m_ the one who’s sorry,” Edward said. “Maybe if I had told you this, you wouldn’t have developed Anorexia because you would have been more educated on the subject.”

“What are you talking about?” Kristy pressed a button on the side of her hospital bed that moved the bed into a sitting position. She could speak easier this way.

“I’m talking about when I was a kid. Kristy, I didn’t go to Doctor Warren because I was a State Alchemist and got hurt. I went to her because I had Bulimia.”

“What?” Kristy’s eyes widened. She didn’t even know boys _could_ have something like that.

“I was just a kid when it started,” Ed explained. “It started when I was young, and it continued until I was an adult. It was always a problem, but it became serious when I was a teenager. I wasn’t eating, and when I was, I was eating so much that I would have to throw up afterward.”

“ _You_ had _Bulimia?”_ Kristy was still in shock from the new information about her father that she never knew. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was embarrassed, Kristy,” Ed said. “I was embarrassed because I put everyone through hell as a teenager and even when I turned eighteen. I was still hiding it, I had begun cutting myself, and I was depressed. It was actually my father who had told everyone I was still hiding my Bulimia when I was eighteen.”

“Your father?” Kristy asked. “You never really talk about him…”

“That’s because I didn’t grow up with him,” Edward answered. “I didn’t really know the guy, except that I knew he left my mom when I was a kid. He had no idea I had Bulimia, he just happened to notice me hiding stuff when no one else did. It was…It was actually your mom who was the first one who caught me throwing up.”

“Really?” Ed nodded.

“She didn’t understand what I was doing. We were just kids; I was eleven or twelve years old. I was so embarrassed that she had caught me…” Ed sighed. “I wish I had told you and the boys earlier. If I had told you the truth…”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” Kristy interrupted. “It wouldn’t have changed that I am the way I am. This is just how it is.”

“You’re right,” Ed said. “But maybe you would have understood that I knew what you were going through from the very beginning.”

* * *

The boys came to the hospital with Winry when she came back in the morning. Edward hadn’t been expecting it so soon, but he should have figured they would work their way in to coming along. Ethan and Anthony had been very close with Kristy when they lived in the house and they were just worried about their baby sister. Ed remembered he would barely leave the hospital when Al was there after he got his body back.

“Hey, kid,” Ethan said as he sat on the hospital bed beside Kristy’s feet.

“Hey,” Kristy greeted with a small smile. Her voice was still a bit rough in the way that happened in the hospital. Ed remembered he always had a scratchy voice in the hospital.

“You scared us,” Anthony said, though he stayed beside the door with Winry. “I thought you were gonna die.”

“I thought so too…” Kristy trailed off.

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” Winry apologized, walking over to Kristy’s bedside and stroking her hair softly. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m so sorry that I put you in that situation.”

“You don’t have to be sorry,” Kristy said. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I ruined your party by being so…freaky…”

“Kristy, I told you that you’re not freaky,” Edward said with a slight sigh. “Kristy woke up last night and we had a heart-to-heart.”

“Did you tell her about…?” Winry trailed off, allowing Ed to fill in the rest of the sentence. He nodded. “Did you want to tell the boys?” Another nod.

“Boys, because Kristy’s secret about her Anorexia was blown, I’ll let you know a little something about me. I guess it’s only fair,” Ed began. “As a teenager, I was Bulimic.”

“That’s the thing with throwing up, right?” Ethan asked. Edward nodded.

“ _Teenager_?” Winry asked with a raised eyebrow. “You were eighteen years old when you finally went into treatment and allowed them to treat you.”

“Hey, that’s still a teenager,” Ed said. “I figured it wasn’t fair for only Kristy to know. Even if she is special.”

“Hey!” Anthony frowned.

“She’s my only daughter, Ant.” Ed and Winry laughed together. “I’ve got two of you boys.”

“We got a little lucky on the first try, I guess,” Winry said. The family’s laughter was interrupted when the doctor walked into the room.

“Hello, everyone,” the doctor greeted. “Are you two related to the patient?” the doctor asked Ethan and Anthony.

“We’re the older brothers,” Ethan answered.

“Mister and Misses Elric, if you’d like for your sons to leave the room for the news I have for you, now would be the time to ask them to leave,” the doctor announced.

“We’re not going anywhere,’ Anthony said.

“Boys…” Ed trailed off. “I think it would be a good idea. I don’t know if this is going to be very good news. We’ll tell you everything that goes on.”

“But, dad…” Anthony began.

“Listen to your father, boys,” Winry interrupted. The twins frowned, walking out of the room and staying directly outside the door in hopes of hearing whatever the doctor had to say.

“What’s up, doc?” Ed asked.

“When Kristina was administered to our facility, we ran some tests on her in order to rule out anything that may have gone wrong,” the doctor explained. “Before we allowed you to see her, we noticed that she was suffering from effects of Anorexia, so we tested her for that and just received the results.”

“Well, we already told you that she was diagnosed as Anorexic,” Ed said. “I thought we put it on her form when we were given paperwork.”

“It might have slipped our minds,” Winry said. “I mean, it’s a new diagnosis, and we were under a lot of stress.”

“I guess…” Edward trailed off.

“That’s beside the point; she might be suffering from a complication from the Anorexia,” the doctor said.

“Complication?” Winry asked with wide eyes. She held tightly onto Kristy’s hand.

“Her heart may be suffering from the stress,” the doctor answered. “Anorexia is a complicated disease and when your daughter continues to starve herself, her body is eating away at her muscle in order to survive. The heart happens to be a muscle that if effected by this disease could cause your daughter to go into cardiac arrest,” the doctor explained.

“Oh my god.” Winry brought a hand to her mouth as she looked down to her daughter. “How do we fix it?”

“Honestly, we still need to do more testing to find out if there even is a problem with the heart,” the doctor answered. “Kristina will need to wear a heart monitor at all times until we can better understand her condition.”

“If you don’t mind, just discharge her,” Edward said. “I’ll take her to the doctor who specializes in this. She’ll know what to do. She can fix anything.”

“Edward…” Winry trailed off. “What if Doctor Warren _can’t_ fix anything? What if…What if Kristy is seriously hurt because of this?”

“Doctor Warren can fix _anything,_ Winry,” Ed said sternly.

**Next Update: Nov. 28 th, 2015**

**Happy Early Thanksgiving! What are you doing?**


	6. Chapter 6

When Kristy was released from the hospital, Edward and Winry immediately took her to see Doctor Warren. Winry believed that Ed seemed a little too set on his views that Doctor Warren could truly fix anything, but she would allow her husband to believe what he needed to in order to get through the visit.

Kristy went through several tests before Doctor Warren walked back into the room with her clipboard in hand.

“So, Kristina, are you going to finally start working on your health?” Doctor Warren asked. The young girl looked to her parents, who appeared so hopeful that she would get better. Kristy nodded to the doctor. “Your tests were inconclusive for now. We’re going to need you to wear a heart monitor to get more accurate results. If you stop putting your body through starvation, there’s a good chance whatever is going on won’t get worse.”

“I’ll take care of myself,” Kristy said. “I don’t…I don’t want to get any worse than I am now.” It took a lot for Kristy to finally believe that she was really sick – that she really had an issue. She finally had, though. It was her father’s talk that really helped her through it.

“Thank you, Kristy,” Winry thanked. Ed gave his daughter a smile. He would thank her privately after he had dealt with the boys’ questions.

When Kristy was fitted with her heart monitor, the Elric family returned home, where Kristy was finally glad to be in her own bedroom. Anthony and Ethan had done their best to try and scrub Kristy’s blood out of her bedroom carpet, but there was only so much they could do. Ed and Winry were already planning on getting someone to replace the entire carpet in Kristy’s room so there would be no trace of evidence that their daughter had attempted to commit suicide.

“What’s wrong, Winry?” Ed asked when Kristy was finally back in her bedroom. Ethan and Anthony were keeping her company by playing a board game with her. It was partly to keep an eye on her and partly to spend some time with her.

Winry looked to Edward from where she was sitting in her work-room. She was sitting at her work bench with a pensive expression. “I’m just worried about Kristina. What if there really is something wrong with her heart?”

“There’s nothing wrong with her heart,” Edward said as he sat on his wife’s bench beside her. “Winry…I had Bulimia for years. Kristina only just developed Anorexia. If I never had a heart problem, she probably doesn’t have one.”

“But the amount of time doesn’t matter,” Winry said. “She’s still done serious damage to her body. She’s lost so much weight and now this…Ed, our daughter has to wear a _heart monitor_.”

“I know,” Ed responded. “I’m worried; I really am. I’m just trying to look on the positive side of things.”

“I hope that you’re right that nothing is wrong,” Winry said. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost Kristy, Edward. I love her and the boys more than life itself. They’re my children.”

“I know, honey. I know.”

* * *

**I know that I didn’t post last week’s update. I actually wasn’t done with the chapter and I finished it in a hurry just now. In trying to get it done so quickly, I have to push some things off that I meant to include in this chapter, so they’ll just have to be in the next chapter(s)!**

**I’m updating next on the 12 th, but it probably will be late because my sister and I are performing a duet together at our music store. **

**Next Update: Dec. 12 th, 2015**


	7. Chapter 7

The Elrics found themselves sitting in Doctor Warren’s office for what seemed like the hundredth time. Kristina had already been examined and was currently waiting in one of the chairs in front of Warren’s desk, alongside her parents.

“Kristina…” Doctor Warren trailed off. “You’re a good girl, and you’re lucky that there was nothing wrong with your heart this time. If you continue to starve yourself, though, there will be next time.”

“I said I wasn’t going to starve myself anymore,” Kristina protested.

“I know you did,” Doctor Warren said. “But sometimes people say things that they have a hard time following through with. That’s what we’re here; to help you follow through on what you say. You’re a good kid, and I want you to open up in therapy more. If you do that instead of being silent or dodging my questions, we can actually get you somewhere.”

“I’ll do whatever I need to do,” Kristy said. “I’ll see you in therapy tomorrow night, right?”

“Yes,” Doctor Warren answered. “Even though you’re out of the woods, though, I’ll still need you to wear your heart monitor for a few months. I know it’s hard, but I just want to make sure nothing goes wrong with your heart. You’re still weak. Why don’t you go visit the game room for a few minutes while I speak with your parents?” Doctor Warren suggested. Kristy knew Doctor Warren was just trying to get her away from the conversation. Warren wanted to talk about her behind her back. Despite knowing this, Kristina still nodded and left the room.

“What are we doing wrong, Doctor Warren?” Winry asked. “I can’t force feed her, but I can’t push her to eat too much. What do I need to _do_?”

“You’re not doing anything wrong,” Doctor Warren said. “If you push Kristina too much, she’ll just go against you and it will be worse in the long-run. Keep bringing her to therapy and offer her meals. Eventually, she’ll take it. I think she’s coming around.”

“She did promise to eat again,” Ed said.

“Did that work for you, Edward?” Doctor Warren asked. The blonde shook his head. “Exactly. We still need to keep an eye on her, but don’t let her know that you’re watching her closely. If she thinks you trust her to do this on her own, she can come around easier.”

“But what if she really just needs to know that we’re watching her?” Edward asked. “What if she’ll get better if she knows she has support?”

“I’m not saying to stop supporting her,” Doctor Warren said. “I’m saying to support her and keep an eye on her without letting her know that you’re keeping an eye on her. This will work if we follow through with it like I had the colonel do when you were here.”

“What?” Ed asked. “You told him to keep an eye on me?”

“Well, that was when you were leaving our facility for the second time,” Doctor Warren said. “I told him and Mister Hughes the first time you left, but they just said you were well enough to leave. Well, Mister Hughes believed you were well enough. The colonel was a bit worried.”

“Well, I guess he should have been,” Ed said. “I was…I was really good at hiding things from them.”

“And us,” Doctor Warren agreed. “You used to use your automail as a way of getting out of weight time, and you would always refuse to eat your yogurt or drink your milk.”

“I don’t like milk,” Ed said. “I never have.”

“Well, some things never change,” Doctor Warren said. “Before you leave, I wanted to ask you about group therapy for Kristina. She’d still come to individual therapy, but she’d also come to group therapy.”

“What would group therapy offer her?” Winry asked.

“Well, she’d be able to talk with other girls who have similar issues to her,” Doctor Warren said. “The inpatients and outpatients have group therapy together. You remember, Edward.”

“Well, I guess it _was_ beneficial,” Ed said. “We’ll discuss it at home and let you know.”

“All right,” Doctor Warren said. “You three have a nice day.”

“Thanks, Doctor Warren,” Edward thanked. He stood with Winry, leaving the room to find Kristy before they returned home.

* * *

“I can get back to normal?” Kristy asked when they returned home. “You mean I can finally go back to school and get everything back to the way it was?” During the time that the Elric family had been dealing with Kristina’s issues, she hadn’t been going to school. First it had been summer break, but she hadn’t returned even when school had started. Now, in the month of December, Kristy was finally going to get back to school just before the break.

“Well, I still thought we should keep you out,” Winry said. “Until January, at least. There’s only a week left of school and everyone is working on finals. Since you haven’t been going, you’ve been excused from taking them.”

“But after a discussion, we both decided that you should go back to at least see your friends again,” Ed added. “We thought it would be good for you and beneficial for your recovery if you get back into a normal routine.”

“But what about the finals?” Kristy asked.

“Well, like I said before, you were excused, but you’ll be given a separate activity to do by your teachers while the other students are doing their finals.” Winry answered. “Probably just some easy assignments to make sure you’re still on track and ready for the next term.”

“Thank you, guys!” Kristy said with a grin.

* * *

“This looks so uncool,” Kristy said as she stared at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a short black skirt with leggings, though only standing in a sports bra on her top half. The heart monitor she had been given was portable, which was better for her going to school, but the wires ran down her stomach and the monitor clipped onto her skirt.

Winry frowned when she saw her daughter standing in front of the mirror. She would have to make a mental note to remove the full length mirror from her daughter’s bedroom. When Winry looked at Kristina, she saw a girl who had lost more weight since they had first been to the doctor. She was much thinner now, her legs looked like bones underneath her leggings and ribs were more prominent now.

“I think it looks fine,” Winry commented. Kristy quickly turned, seeing her mother staring at her. She hastily pulled on a sweater that hid the majority of her frail body. Winry knew how her daughter had hidden the starvation the whole time. “You’re so beautiful.”

“You always say that,” Kristy said with a frown.

“Because it’s true,” Winry responded. “Now, come on, we’re going to be late to drop you off at school.” Winry moved to the dining table and grabbed her keys.

“Hey,” Ethan said as he saw Kristy walk out of her bedroom. “You doing okay? I didn’t get a lot of details after the doctor appointment, but you’re going to school now, and…” Ethan trailed off. For the first time with his little sister, he didn’t know what to say.

“I’m doing better now, Ethan,” Kristy answered. “I’ve got a heart monitor and stuff, but it’s hidden under my sweater. You can’t even tell I have one!” Ethan smiled. He wasn’t going to tell his sister that he could clearly see the monitor clipped to her skirt.

“You have a good day,” Ethan said. “I’ll see you after school.”

Winry frowned when it was just her and Kristy in the car. Edward was so much better with her. Winry only had one daughter, and she didn’t even really know how to talk to her. Kristy seemed to feel just as uncomfortable as Winry, as she had decided instead of speaking to her mother, she would roll up her sleeve and stare at the stitches that had yet to be removed from her arm. They were scheduled to be removed the next week by Doctor Warren.

“They’ll scar,” Kristy said quietly, breaking the silence in the car. “The stitches will scar my wrist.”

“I know,” Winry said. “But if you want, your father and I will get you plastic surgery to get rid of the scar.”

“No,” Kristy said with a small sigh. “I don’t want to cover this up. This is part of me now.”

* * *

 

**Next Update: Dec. 19 th, 2015**

**Can you believe there’s only twelve days until Christmas? Where did the year go?! In all serious, though, I’m sorry I didn’t post yesterday. I performed a duet with my sister (we played Saria’s Song!) and I had finals all week, so I didn’t really get to work on the chapter. I had to push a lot out that I meant to get in this chapter just to finish it, but here it is!**

**Author's Note:**

> One of the biggest things in writing this was whether or not to include Jordyn or not. He was originally going to be who I was going to focus the story on because he had the backstory of being transgender, but I ultimately decided to write Kristy as the main character and take Jordyn out. I did this because I just don’t think I could write a transgender character that would appropriately represent a transgender person, and I really didn’t want to offend anyone. Now, I could have written Jordyn in and kept her as someone who wasn’t the main character, but Jordyn wasn't originally a part of Ed’s family when I created the kids, so I kept her out for this story. Maybe in the future I’ll add her in other stories.


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